I have been working hard at maintaining my daily posting to Hive, regardless of whether or not I have interesting things to write about, today is one of those days where my day consisted of work, and that was about it. So, this post might not be the most interesting, but for me, it is still cool. My wife, seen above on the ladder, owns her own business, called "Queen Bee Cleaning." She started the company, with my help, right after covid started when we got laid off from our jobs at the local community college. She started with just a few residential customers, but one day, I saw a post on Facebook from a realtor friend of mine needing a deep clean for a client. That one deep clean led to a great review and reference, and through word of mouth we grew - fast.
Employees!
One Job to a Real Company
I now own ten percent of our company now that we formed an LLC for credit purposes, but we had no idea it would lead to where it has. We named it "Queen Bee Cleaning" sort of as a joke. My wife had gotten me a "nuc" to start a beehive for my birthday that year, and I threw "Queen Bee Cleaning" out there as a joke, and she liked it, so we went with it. Over the first year, we gained quite a few residential customers and started doing painting and drywall repair as well. I have a construction background, but I do not want to deal with getting a business license, so we limit what kind of jobs we take on within that context. Let me tell you, we have no shortage of business...
My Pastor's nephew who lives and works with us...
Bigger Things...
Our first year, we took on a lot of different jobs, and we traveled all over lower Michigan to work. Our reviews were really good, and I handled the marketing and advertising. I built a website, had my wife take an online Housecleaning certification course, join Angie's list long enough to get the background check certification for her, got targeted ads started on Facebook, and even walked myself through the trademark process to where we now have a full trademark for our logo! I keep the insurance going, deal with the accountant when needed, and handle the administration side of things, but my wife? She is the face of the business and the one that goes out every day and handles most of the residential accounts. It did not take long before we started growing to where we had to have help...
Check out that stove!
Commercial!
About four months ago, my wife got a call from a property management company that needed cleaning done ASAP. She went and did the job, and met with the manager. Of course, my wife made friends with the lady, and now, we are handling the companies move out cleans, drywall repairs, and paintings, for now. The management company not only owns its own properties, but it also manages properties for a lot of private people. We are meeting with an accountant and an insurance agent on Monday to start workman's compensation insurance so we can hire employees on payroll versus sub-contractors. After that, I will seek out more commercial contracts. Hopefully, we can grow this company and corner the market in our area. We hear all the time that people won't even show up to bid on the jobs...
Hundred-year-old house
Moving Forward...
Hopefully, we can grow my wife's business, because really, it is hers, I just help her, to the point where it will be something we can retire from by selling or making enough money running it. I know this, my wife is awesome. I am so proud of her. She never thought she would be a successful business owner, and I am glad that I am able to help her realize what she is capable of. She never really had people that encouraged her in life, and I am honored that she chose me. I know, sappy, but it is true. Anyway, if you are looking for a business to get into, allow me to recommend a cleaning company if you are willing to do the work, the work is there to do, at least in my area it is...
